61.

Frogs in vast Numbers from the Rivers came,
And with loud Crokings their Ascent proclaim:
With hideous Clamors they the Land invade,
The Temples fill'd, and in the Royal Chambers stay'd:
While on their loathsom Guests the People gaze,
Succeeding Wonders heighten their Amaze:
Dry earthy Particles prolifick prove,
Each animated Dust does move:
On Men and Beasts the eager Insects seise,
And with a bloody Feast their hungry Stomachs please:
These soon were follow'd by vast Swarms of Flies,
Which fill'd the Earth, and darken'd all the Skies;
In Triumph rode the Circuit of the Air,
And play'd, and wanton'd there,
And neither Pharaoh , nor his Gods revere.

62.

A deadly Ill does on their Cattle seise;
They faint, they sink, they yield to the Disease:
From th' unerring Shaft 'twere vain to fly,
They in the Fields, and at the Altars die:
The small Remain with grievous Boils were seis'd:
Nor were the harmless Beasts alone diseas'd;
With them th' infectious Ill their Masters share,
With them, the noisom Sickness bear:
As they were murm'ring at their Fate,
And cursing their abhorr'd Estate,
They saw new Plagues preparing in the Air,
Black dreadful Clouds were gath'ring there;
Loud Thunders roar, and forky Lightnings fly
With glaring Terror cross the darken'd Sky,
Vapors congeal'd, in mighty Hail descend,
And certain Ruin did its Fall attend:
Nor Men, nor Beasts its Fury cou'd avoid;
The Fields it spoil'd, and ev'ry Herb destroy'd;
The Trees it rob'd of all their native Green,
And nothing round their Roots but scatter'd Boughs were seen:
The frighted Peasants with Amazement strook,
With trembling Haste their rural Cares forsook,
To closest Caves, and sacred Vaults they fled,
And there, remain'd secure, among the happier dead.

63.

At all their Ills Pharaoh remain'd unmov'd,
His flinty Heart more hard than Marble prov'd:
He still resolv'd the Hebrews to detain;
And for their sakes was plagu'd again:
With fatal Haste vast Flights of Locusts came.
Their Prince, the suff'ring People blame;
And see with Grief, the quick Devourers shar'd,
That little which the Hail had spar'd.
Thick darkning Vapors from the Earth arise,
And with their clammy Atoms fill all th' ambient Skies;
So vast their Numbers, not one Ray of Light
Cou'd penetrate the Shades of that black horrid Night:
Three Days they sate hid from each other's view,
And all their Sighs, their Tears, their sad Complaints renew.
Highly provok'd by their obdurate King,
God did on them a greater Judgment bring:
While with soft Sleep they strove to calm their Grief,
And hop'd to find in Slumbers some Relief,
To ev'ry House he the Destroyer sent,
And bid him all the First-born kill;
With Haste he on the dreadful Errand went,
And did the dire Command fulfil:
Amaz'd, and griev'd the sad Egyptians rise.
And with shrill Screeches, and loud dismal Cries,
Proclaim their Loss, and to their King repair,
And beg he wou'd his mourning Subjects spare:
They saw impending Dangers threaten from on high,
And fear'd they shou'd like their dear Off-spring die:
With Horror struck, they their sad suit renew'd:
Mov'd by their Prayers he did at length relent;
And by their Sighs and Tears subdu'd,
From Egypt he the joyful Hebrews sent.

64.

Their great Preserver now their Guide became;
By Night he led them with a bright auspicious Flame;
By Day a Cloud did their Conductor prove,
Thus were they still the Care of his unweary'd Love.
Th' Egyptian Tyrant soon his Rage renew'd,
And with a num'rous Host the frighted Jews pursu'd:
On th' Erythraean Shore they trembling stay'd,
And thence the Sea, and their approaching Foes survey'd:
Inclos'd with Dangers, to their God they cry'd,
To him, who never yet his Aid deny'd:
When thus distrest, he bid the Sea retire;
Th' obsequious Sea with Haste obey'd,
And at an awful Distance stay'd,
While they were thro' its Depths from all their Fears convey'd:
With joyful Speed amid the Shades of Night,
They follow'd their directing Fire,
And by its glorious Light,
View'd all the Wonders of the new-form'd Way,
And saw their God his mighty Pow'r display.
The rash Egyptians still their Steps pursu'd,
And thought they might be now with Ease subdu'd;
Onward they went, push'd forward by their Fate,
And saw no Danger till it was too late.

65.

When the safe Shore the Israelites had gain'd,
The Sea no longer was restrain'd,
But with tumultuous Haste its ancient Ground regain'd.
From Place to Place the lost Pursuers fled,
And vainly strove th' impetuous Waves to shun,
Each Path to some new Danger led,
They could not from surrounding Waters run:
Strugling and weary to their Gods they cry'd,
And full of Horror, and Confusion dy'd:
The joyful People, when returning Day
Had chas'd the melancholy Shades away,
Saw on the Shore the dead Egyptians lie,
With Arms and Horses scatter'd by;
Thick as Autumnal Leaves they lay,
To ev'ry rav'nous Bird, and ev'ry Beast a Prey.

66.

Those mighty Men, whom they so lately fear'd,
Now Objects of Contempt appear'd:
With Joy they gaz'd, and as they gaz'd, they sung;
The Heav'nly Arch with cheerful Accents rung:
With thankful Hearts they their Protector bless'd,
And in sweet moving Strains their Gratitude express'd.
Then forward march'd, by the same Kindness led,
Secur'd from Dangers, and divinely fed
With Angels Food, with pure celestial Bread:
Thus favour'd, they thro' trackless Desarts went,
Where from hard Rocks reviving Streams were sent:
Continu'd Mercies fill'd each circling Hour,
The rich Productions of unbounded Pow'r!
In vain against them warlike Nations rose,
In vain 'gainst them combine,
In vain their conqu'ring Arms oppose;
In vain was ev'ry deep Design:
Without Success, their Stratagems they try,
Without Success, to lawless Arts they fly:
In vain did Moab Altars raise,
In vain desir'd the Prophet's Aid,
In vain that he wou'd curse them pray'd:
In vain the Seer to curse the Blest essay'd:
An inward Force, a Pow'r Divine,
Turn'd his intended Curses into Praise:
Compell'd, their Triumphs he foretels,
Long on the hated Subject dwells.
Thus blest, and prosper'd by Almighty Love,
In sacred Pomp their Forces onward move;
And full of Glory, reach'd the happy Soil,
The kind Reward of their obedient Toil,
The promis'd Canaan ; where, the fruitful Ground
Did with rich Nature's choicest Gifts abound,
And where, their Wishes were with full Fruition crown'd.

67.

Ye sacred Priests, who at the Altar wait,
And there, well-skill'd in Rites Divine,
His wondrous Passion celebrate,
In whom unprecedented Love did shine:
Extol his Name, enlarge upon his Praise,
And as it merits, the great Subject raise:
With Zeal, and Clearness, holy Truths relate;
And strive by Reason to convince the Mind:
Let useless Subtilties, those Tricks of Pride,
Those Masks that Ignorance does chuse
Her Sloth, and her Deformity to hide,
No Place in your Discourses find:
For solid Notions, banish empty Shews,
And in the noblest Cause your Rhet'rick use:
No more in vain Disputes engage;
No more a War with diff'rent Parties wage,
But make it your whole Bus'ness to reform the Age:
With Vice alone the Combat try,
To vanquish that your Skill apply;
And with a Courage dauntless and sublime,
A Courage, worthy of your Faith, and you,
Exert your utmost Strength the Hydra to subdue.
Preach Justice to the Great, to such as climb
With guilty Haste the dang'rous Heights of Fame,
And wade thro' Blood to Grandeur and a Name.
Tell them a Nemesis Divine,
Does all the Actions of Mankind survey,
Sees each ambitious, each unjust Design;
And tho' Oppressors prosper for a while,
And Fortune seems on their Attempts to smile,
Yet in the last impartial Day,
God with eternal Vengeance will their Crimes repay.

68.

Tell those whose Bliss is to their Wealth confin'd,
Virtue's the greatest Treasure they can gain,
A Treasure which for ever will remain.
Persuade them with a bounteous Mind
To be to the deserving Needy Kind,
And like that God to whom they all things owe,
Their Riches freely to bestow.
Th' unthinking Proud unto themselves make known;
Tell them they've nothing they can call their own:
Those things they boast, may soon be snatch'd away,
They can't insure their Bliss for one short Moment's stay.
Wealth may be lost, and beauty will decay:
Titles are vain, and what they Honour call,
Does often to the Share of the unworthy fall:
Inconstant Fortune blindly does bestow
Promiscuous Favours with a careless Hand;
Sometimes she lifts the Mean on high,
And Sons of Earth again insult the Sky;
On the bright airy Heights of Pow'r they stand,
Prais'd and ador'd by all below;
While such as merit Empires, live obscure,
And all th' Indignities of Fate endure.

69.

Persuade all such as of their Knowledge proud,
Cast scornful Glances on th' illiterate Croud,
To look within, and let each haughty Thought
Be to the Test of sober Reason brought:
Tell them their Pride from Ign'rance flows,
He's ever humblest who most knows:
Those whose rich Souls are always bright,
Who live encompass'd round with intellectual Light,
Do in their Minds a thousand Errors see,
And seldom are from their own Censures free:
Their Wisdom adds but to their Pain,
And they by their Researches gain
Only uncertain Notices of Truth:
When they to outward Objects turn their Sight,
They find them all involv'd in Night;
Like fleeting Shadows they escape their view:
If at th' Expence of Health, of Ease, and Youth,
They the thin airy Forms pursue,
Themselves they tire with the long toilsom Race,
And lose at last the Phantoms which they chase:
The World of Learning none could yet explore;
The most laborious only coast it round the Shore;
View Creeks, and Bays, and distant Mountains see,
The rest is hid from Human Industry.

70.

Teach the luxurious with a noble Scorn
To look on all the glitt'ring Trifles here below:
Tell them they were for higher Bus'ness born,
And on their Minds should all their Thoughts bestow;
There all their Care, and all their Skill should show.
Tell them the Pomp of Life is but a Snare,
Riches, Temptations which they ought to fear,
Empire, a burthen few have Strength enough to bear.
The true, substantial Wealth is lodg'd within;
'Tis there the brightest Gems are found:
Such as wou'd great and glorious Treasures win,
Treasures which theirs for ever will remain,
Must Piety and Wisdom strive to gain:
Those shining Ornaments which always prove
Incentives to Respect and Love.
Virtue its Splendor ever will retain,
And Wisdom still an inward State maintain;
Still in the Soul with a Majestick Grandeur reign.
In vicious Minds they Admiration raise,
What they won't practice, they are forc'd to praise:
With gnawing Envy they their Triumphs view,
But dare not their malignant Rancor shew,
Nor undisguis'd the Dictates of their Spite pursue:
Like Birds obscene they shun th' offensive Light,
And hide themselves beneath the gloomy Veil of Night.
Thrice blest are they who're with interior Graces crown'd,
Whose Minds with rational Delights abound,
With Pleasures more delicious, more refin'd,
Than the voluptous can in their Enjoyments find;
Such Pleasures as ne'er yet regal'd their Sense,
Which Earth can't give, nor mightiest Kings dispence,
And whose Description far exceeds the Pow'r of Eloquence.